Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Hyrdostatic transmission proble John Deere 345 mower, john deere 345, shop technician

Question
I have a John Deere 345 that will only move very slowly forward and not at all in reverse.  It started with the mower not moving in reverse, but after going forward for about 30 feet, forward would work better and reverse would then work.  It usually ran fine after that. Now the forward pedal is stuck and will not push down.  It unattached the linkage from the transmission and it was moving fine.  It appears to not be moving from the linkage on top of the mower.  After taking the pedal off, the linkage would only let me go so far in the forward position with moving it by hand. The freewheel lever will also not pull out.  I checked the drive belt and it is ok.  I have not changed the oil or the filter, could that be causing all this?  The oil level was low (1/4 quart brought it up to the correct level) and I added that.  Does this sound like i need a new transmission. Mower is a 1998 with ~700hrs.
Thank you so much for your help.
Doug,

Answer
Hi Doug,

It appears that you do have transmission problems here.  It sounds like your machine should be shifting into drive reverse but it is only intermittently. I am unsure as to the source of the problem.  It would have to be troubleshot more precisely.  It doesn't seem to be linked the low oil.  A lack of oil would result in the engine over-heating and eventually the engine would stop.

It sounds like you may need to have this machine looked at by the John Deere shop technician.

Sorry that's about all I can offer you in the way of advice.

Regards,

Howard